One Flew Over the Bride and Groom's Nest
by Satyrific
Summary: Nazi Zombies-Outlast alternate universe. When criminal hacker Edward is hired by Murkoff, he and his bodyguard, Takeo, think it's a dream come true. But everyone wakes up from dreams eventually. Rating due to canon typical violence in later chapters.
1. Hired

Edward observed the patrons of the bookstore as he was waiting for the stranger. He may have not picked up a book, but instead, he chose a bookstore to meet for the first time because of how comforting it was to be around databases. It may have sounded strange, but that was Edward all right, even if his specific interests in databases were more electronic than traditional; Edward was good with computers and excellent with software and databases were his specialty. He loved finding new databases to toy with-experiment with their strengths and weaknesses-and… exploit monetarily. "Pirate" was putting it lightly. "Criminal mastermind" was more like it, or at least, Edward liked to tack on the mastermind part for himself. But a master mind alone cannot support such an occupation, especially since recently, he began running into trouble with the Belinski gang.

Which was why he was meeting with the stranger today; he had found him while running through some police records a few towns over. He had quite a reputation, but really, the most impressive of his resume Edward found were found in private phone call records between criminals of a different nature.

He checked a clock; one minute before he was to meet with him. Suddenly, he heard the front door of the store slam open. The customers' attentions were immediately caught on the front door and stuck there for a few moments as the sudden intruder remained in the doorway. But soon, Edward heard heavy footsteps approach the lounging section of the bookstore. Even on the carpet, the snap of combat boots was apparent.

Edward was hesitant to look at the approaching man, not sure if it was really who he was expecting, so he settled on facing a perpendicular direction and gently smiling to show his pleasure at the man's arrival.

"Edward Richtofen?" He heard a gruff, Japanese accent almost whisper right behind him. Perhaps as an apology for the conspicuous entrance? Or maybe he was just having a bad day? Edward looked up at him. Yep, definitely the latter.

"Takeo Masaki, right?" Edward reached a hand out.

"Yes." Instead of shaking the hand, Takeo just sat next to him. "I do not mean to be rude, but I still have yet to ask; how did you find me, let alone know what I do?"

A man who liked to get a feel for the surroundings before plunging in. Edward liked that. "Let's just say, I have… a certain skill set." Though Takeo stayed still, Edward could see the gears turning. "Don't worry, I'm not part of any government agency or something." Takeo was not convinced. "Do you remember the Johnson-Middleton incident?"

"Yeah, it was all over the news, so?" Edward smiled and waited. "… That was you?!" Takeo was definitely awake now. As much as he loved when people came to this realization, Edward smiled and calmly nodded. Takeo settled back down in his seat. "So you're more softcore in your business."

Edward did his best not to smirk but the smile in his eyes was evident. Was soft really Takeo's impression? That he was some soft old man? But it was not only that that made him smile; it was also the fact that he used the word "softcore" and not just "soft." Even under Takeo's pea coat, an obvious drastic curve of the waist and hips was apparent. He was finding Takeo, though a tad feminine in the face, quite attractive. But they were here to discuss business today. "Well, while I do have connections, I do not really run a business. I do my business single handedly, usually."

"Wow, I would think that an effort like the Johnson-Middleton incident would take a team." Takeo smiled a little, placed his elbow on the chair, and his chin on his hand. "Quite cocky of you."

There it was again. Was it just Edward, or was Takeo flirting with him? Whatever, Edward needed a bodyguard and needed a bodyguard _fast_, so his employment was already decided before he even walked in the door. "Thank you, but I think it is more important that was discuss our future plans rather than my single handed accomplishments."

"Room and board with you is included, right?"

"Ja, but we can discuss the specifics of the board part later. In the last email, you said that you were not exactly sure if your last employer still needed you."

"Don't worry about that, everything is settled with him." Takeo may have not realized it, but his eyebrow twitched a bit. Interesting, but they would have time later to learn more about each other. They would be living together, after all.

Edward began to get up. "Now, if you'd like, I'll drive you to my place and you can start unpacking. I've got work to do anyway." He suddenly felt a shooting pain in his spine and paused. So much for not being the soft old man. Takeo reached a gloved hand out. Edward took the hand and through the glove, Edward could feel bandaging, but not bandaging for an injury; Takeo's hand was bandaged in the way to _prevent_ injury while fighting. Edward had confidence that he had made a good choice.

* * *

Takeo awoke early in the morning, as usual now with Edward. He was sensitive to his surroundings, and every morning around 6 AM, Edward would be typing away at his desk, rather obnoxiously, actually. But Takeo liked it; it was routine and he liked having a routine after the past few years of distress and turmoil in his life. Unlike other days, however, Takeo decided to get up and see just what the heck Edward was up to today instead of listening to Edward type and hum that old bouncy song. What where the lyrics again? Edward had only sung them within his earshot once. Shrugging it off, Takeo stretched and stumbled yawning into Edward's little work closet.

But before he even fully opened the door, he could hear a tired German accent drawling out, "Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream. Make him the cutest that I've ever seen…"

"You say something, Edward?" Edward quickly turned to Takeo. Takeo could see he had suddenly made himself small; he was nervous for some reason.

"Oh, nothing!" Edward quipped before flashing back to his work. But his tapping on the keyboard was erratic and of an unnatural flow; Takeo could tell.

"Are you sure?" Takeo remained still in the doorway, doing his best to make his voice calm and friendly. He had a feeling he knew what Edward was hiding.

"Takeo…" Edward sighed, and finally turned around fully. "Well, being as we're going to be living together for a while, I guess I should get this over with. Takeo, how do you feel about gay people?"

"Ugh, I personally have had my fill of sex with men for one lifetime." Takeo could see Edward visibly uncurl his body and relax. "But I guess could make an exception if I ever wanted to."

Though both had an idea of what Takeo meant, Edward was not so sure. "… That's not what I meant-."

"Me neither, I'm just talking about myself." Takeo shrugged, then smiled. "Don't worry, it's not like I'm gonna start kissing you on the forehead and calling you 'darling.'"

Edward smiled, but as his lips turned upwards, he twitched. "Heh, yeah." Edward turned back to his work. "I'm glad we had this talk."

Takeo had to admit, he kinda liked making Edward nervous with his flirting, not out of a sadistic streak, but rather out of the old, familiar comfort of having a boyfriend. Takeo had gotten used to being tied down to someone in the last few years and he felt a little something missing now that that old someone was gone. But a mini wave of anger and euphoria passed over him, remembering it was for the better. "Sure, no problem." Takeo cut it short and hurried out of there and back to the bedroom, not wanting Edward to see him distraught. He sighed loudly once he was alone and began dressing so he could take a walk.

* * *

Edward was somewhat glad that Takeo had cut the conversation at that because he was on the verge of breakthrough and wanted little distraction. He was tampering with a strange company known as "Murkoff." They seemed to play a major role in the economy but very little was known about their operations, or even just plain what they did. After a half an hour more of grabbing information about the company then quickly disconnecting so as not to get caught and so on and so forth, he came to the conclusion that Murkoff's most recent business was set up in the form of a research facility in Colorado. What exactly was being researched Edward could not find out but whatever it was, it must have been very important to Murkoff; they had spent a considerable amount of resources on it and there were some top notch names in the underground tech business involved. All the while, there were mentions of a "gate," a word that seemed almost vital to the reports he was finding. This could be interesting… very interesting…


	2. Visitors

"RUUUUUN!" It was definitely more than a little redundant that Edward was screaming this in this situation, but here he was, screaming and running for his life with Takeo who was clutching to a manila envelope as he sprinted. Takeo was behind him, shooting any guards who were trying to intervene.

It had definitely been a risky operation; Edward had never tried anything illegal outside of his deskwork, but Takeo had charmed him into stepping out of the office and onto the field. "Charmed?" What the fuck, he should definitely NOT have used the word "charmed" to describe his bodyguard in any way. Platonically, sure. Platonically… yes, Takeo was quite a charming man, even more so than Edward had first thought. But still, they were supposed to be on just business terms. They had already become good friends over the past several months; he didn't need someone he loved that he could lose.

When they finally got home, Edward was pacing around the apartment, something normal for him, but what was unusual was that he'd been doing it for the past hour nonstop.

"Wow, that was amazing! I feel so fucking pumped, oh my god, is this how you feel all the time, Takeo-?!"

"Please be quiet." First of all, what kind of assumption was that? If anything, Edward was the more spirited and aggressive of the two. And second of all, Takeo just didn't want to talk right now. He felt so… sick.

Takeo got up and began walking to the door. Edward opened his mouth to speak, but Takeo went first. "I'm going for a walk." He curtly uttered and walked out the door.

Takeo walked around the block but eventually came back and sat at the apartment building stoop; he had some thinking to do. So many things could have easily gone wrong out there today; there were a few times his pistol jammed, the gates had almost closed on them as they drove away, Takeo could have sworn he heard sirens a few times, and Edward could have easily gotten hurt. Edward! Why did he care about the man so much? Well, he supposed for starters that it was because Edward just wasn't as experienced in fieldwork. And he shouldn't have used all the tricks in his toolbox to sway Edward to come with him. Even though he could have easily blamed Edward for going on and on about how much money he could make from selling the original documents and how close he was, Takeo still felt that he was at more fault here. Yes, it's because Edward could have easily been hurt, not because of how when they accidentally brushed hands he wished they could have touched longer, of the way that Edward tilting his head in concern could make him lose his breath, of how he dreamed of being called "darling" by that sweet German accent… no, no, NO, he wasn't ready for another relationship to have for a while just to fail again. He just couldn't. He just-.

"Hey, Taks. Been a while, hasn't it?"

Takeo's eyes popped open but he refused to look up. He knew the voice but he refused to believe it was really him. No, this is just a dream, or perhaps even an alternate universe him, or-!

"Look at me, buddy." Oh gods. It WAS him.

Takeo looked up, muscles tensed. He didn't know if he wanted to run away or throw up. "… Hey, Tank."

"C'mon, Taks, you don't gotta be so formal with me. Don't you remember me? Good ol' Jacob?" Jacob's tone was friendly but his expression and body language definitely was not. "I need to tell you something."

"Tank, I'm not gonna crawl back to you."

"I don't want anything like that from you. Well, at least that's not what I came here for." Gods, would he just shut up that stupid goddamn mouth and go away already?

"Fuck off, Tank. I don't want you in my life anymore."

"Aw, how harsh, Taks." Jacob's tone may have been joking and his expression may have lightened a little, but his body language did not match. "I guess you don't want me to warn you about how Belinski's gonna run your ass outta town."

"What does any of this have to do with him?" Tank tapped his hand on his coat impatiently. "… You're working for him now?!"

"Damn right I am, and a little birde tells me that if you don't stop fucking the Belinski's over with that desk nerd of yours, you're gonna be in serious fucking trouble."

Takeo didn't like the tone Tank's voice had suddenly taken. It was… scary. "Alright, so? It's not like it's my choice what I do with my work, it's my… desk nerd's decision. You know that."

"Well then, tell your stuck up fucking boss to get the fuck out of town, because he'll be in six feet under too if you two don't quit it. Now I've got questions to answer, people to kill, more debts to pay, Taks! Great! Great! Just fucking fantastic!" Jacob was becoming more and more animated, now uncrossing his hands and practically brandishing them. "Nice job, Takeo! Congratulations! You fucked up! You fucked up for both of us!" Then Jacob's voice became eerily low. "And you know what happens when you fuck up."

"Oh, please, Jacob, you couldn't even lay a finger on me again even if you wanted to." Takeo lied.

"Oh, but my dearest Takeo," Jacob leaned in and now Takeo felt very, very small. "I do."

With that, Takeo was grabbed by his hair and punched straight in the face. As strong as Takeo was, he was still very short and Jacob had learned in the years they were together how to take advantage of that. Takeo reeled back, watching the blood from gods know where fly. Before he even had the chance to hit the pavement behind him, he was grabbed, punched, and kicked. "You like that, Takeo?! You like screwing me over?!" Then he grabbed Takeo's wrist and twisted it.

That was it. That was the trigger.

"NO! NO! NO I DON'T! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!"

"Sorry doesn't cut it, buddy!" Jacob wasn't exactly sure of his next step until he saw fragments of glass from a bottle on the ground. Jacob started dragging him towards it. "You really fucked up this time!"

Just when Jacob was about to reach for the biggest shard of glass, Edward walked outside. "Hey, Takeo, is that you-TAKEO!" Jacob dropped Takeo just from the sheer volume and pitch of Edward's screech. "GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HIM!"

Takeo just sat there, a hyperventilating, babbling mess. Edward began to run to his aid when Jacob began approaching Edward. "Who the fuck are you?! Gah, doesn't matter, I'll get rid of you too for getting in my way!"

Edward began backing up when he tripped on the stoop. It was like he was stuck there. Takeo looked with his tear filled eyes but was able to make out Edward and Jacob looming over him. He didn't know what kicked in, but something got him to stand up and rip Jacob away from Edward.

"What the-?!" Jacob turned around to see Takeo glaring at him then examining Edward with a softer expression. "… Oh, so you're fuckin' him now!"

Defiance filled Takeo once more. "Shut up-!"

Jacob scoffed. "I always knew you were into lining your pocket with older dudes-!"

"I SAID 'SHUT UP!'" Takeo kicked Jacob in the jaw. Jacob reeled back, not expecting the attack.

He was stunned for a few seconds, before retorting, "You're gonna regret this!" He began running away.

Though Takeo now had the strength and will to chase him down the street and finish the job, he knew he had to take care of Edward. "Edward, are you all right-?"

"Am I all right? Am I all right?! Takeo, holy shit, look at your face!" As stupid of a statement that was, Takeo began feeling a sharp pain in his jaw. "Get inside! I'll clean you up!"

When they got back into their apartment, Edward immediately set Takeo up in their bathroom to clean himself up at the sink while he got some cotton and disinfectant.

Takeo wanted Edward to just leave it be, but when he returned, the interview began. "Why did you let him push you around like that, Takeo?" Edward knew he was not mistaken; he saw what he saw. "The things he said to you… you obviously knew each other very well." Takeo was about to lie when Edward pressed the disinfectant to his cheek. Ow. "And the fact that you wouldn't fight back until he was going to hurt me… Takeo, did he abuse you in the past?"

Dammit, now Takeo couldn't lie. He knew he couldn't stay silent either. "… Edward, I'm not sure if I can take it anymore! I still have nightmares about what happened! And to think that he's back…! Oh gods, I just knew he was going to find me and come back! And you almost got hurt! I let that happen!"

Edward rubbed Takeo's arm. "Takeo, don't worry about me, I'm more concerned for you-."

"No, no, it's my fault!"

Edward did his best to stay level headed and rational. "Takeo, please, this isn't going to affect your employment-."

"FUCK MY EMPLOYMENT, I COULDN'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THAT!" Seeing that he had frightened Edward a bit by becoming so animated, he lowered his voice and arms. But not by much. "Edward, I care about you!"

"I care about you too, but we're talking about you-!"

"No, you don't understand, I just feel-!" He just felt what? What _did_ Takeo feel? Angry at himself? Pity for Edward who had to deal with him? Pity because he cared so much about Edward? Because he cared **_so_** much about Edward? "I just feel…" He did even realize it but he began leaning towards Edward, closer and closer until he could feel his breath. "I just… don't have any more excuses." And with that, he kissed Edward.

Edward tried to back away and Takeo stood up to accommodate. Edward was practically leading him by the mouth until he was pressed between Takeo and the bathroom wall. It wasn't that Edward didn't want this, but he knew this was not the right time for this. Or… was it? So told his arms now wrapped around the smaller man, now pulling up his back, hands entwining into Takeo's hair. The kiss was… sloppy, to be nice about it. Both were desperately out of practice. But the effort was there, and the way they moaned and desperately began grabbing at each other's bodies absolutely turned them on.

It was Edward who broke the kiss. "Stop!"

Takeo obeyed and pulled back. "… You… you don't want this?"

"Well, no, I do want this, it's just…" Edward really had to actually think hard on this one. The silence was getting awkward. "… You have to understand; you're not really feeling this. You're probably just feeling a mix of adrenaline and post traumatic stress disorder. You're probably just very disoriented and want some sort of…" Edward couldn't even look him in the eyes with the next word. "Distraction. I don't want you ending up anymore hurt than you already are."

Takeo took a moment to understand. "That's… sweet, Edward, but please…" Takeo leaned against him once again. "I want you…" The lust in Takeo's voice, the way he was touching Edward, the thing pressing against Edward's leg… Takeo certainly wasn't lying. And Edward would be lying if he said he didn't agree.

Edward didn't understand how, but soon they were tearing each other's clothes off, they were in Edward's bedroom, they were in the bed, and they were moving their hips in time with each other even though every other part of their bodies were moving so erratically and impatiently, searching in wont for any kind of sensation they could get. Edward moaned out Takeo's name and Takeo kissed him and moaned "darling" onto his lips as Edward jerked his hips upward. When they were done, they fell asleep on different sides of the bed, but their arms remained tangled as they whispered, "I love you."

* * *

They woke up to the sound of a window breaking and something heavy hitting the floor in another room of their apartment. Takeo told Edward to stay where he was, but just as Takeo was getting out of bed to investigate, an explosion was heard in the same room, followed by the sound of the fire alarm going off. They then immediately jumped out of bed, hurried to get dressed, and started to make a run for the window of their bedroom when suddenly, there were gunshots outside. Then there were the sound of the front door of the apartment being broken down and… fire extinguishers? The two stayed still as things went silent.

Then suddenly, a voice calmly but loudly called out. "Mr. Richtofen? Are you home?"

Takeo motioned for Edward to hide in the bathroom. He responded, a little shaky, "Edward is not here right now. Who is out there?"

" I am Dr. Ludvig Maxis. I work for Murkoff."

"Shit!" Edward accidentally yelped from where he was hiding. So much for hiding.

"You two can come out. Those goons have been taken care of and we here will do no harm to you. I promise, Murkoff is not angry; I just want to talk." Takeo was now even more hesitant to open the door. Why would Murkoff be angry? Just who was Murkoff anyway? What did this have to do with them? But Edward came out of his hiding spot. He looked at Takeo, then to the bedroom window, and motioned a "no." Takeo trusted Edward, so he opened the door.

When they opened the door, the front door was indeed broken down and outside stood an man who appeared older than Edward and a younger man and woman, one with an ax, the other with a fire extinguisher. The older man was identified as Ludvig when he spoke, "Come, sit." He motioned to two chairs in the room and Takeo and Edward complied cautiously. Ludvig's voice was calm as ever, however, and presented no threat. "Now, we understand that you, Edward, have been rather… curious about our operations, is that right?"

Edward did his best to be polite, but he was rather nervous. "Y-yes. Why is it that you're here?"

"Gets to the point, huh? A sign of good work ethic." Ludvig smiled warmly. "You see, Murkoff likes to use every possible resource they have and would like to hire you to work to keep their databases secure."

The smile did not quell the knot in Edward's stomach. "… What?" Then he remembered what just happened; the explosion, the gunshots, the "goons." He and Takeo were in danger and needed to get out of there as soon as possible. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to say no. We already have enough troubles on out plate."

Ludvig's smile faded but his expression remained concerned. "Well, think of it this way; we could easily relocate the two of you. As observed tonight, you two obviously aren't in the safest situation and probably need to get away ASAP."

What was this guy doing? Whatever he was doing, he was good at manipulating people's emotions, because Edward was actually starting to trust him. "No offense, Dr. Maxis, but I think we'll do just fine on our own if we just move. We don't need your help."

"I'm not so sure about that. Belinski's power reaches awfully far across the states."

Edward voice became a bit too cocky. "So why should we believe that you'll keep us safe?"

But Ludvig spoke confidently. "You examined Murkoff's facilities yourself, you be the judge."

Ludvig had him there; Edward had to admit, getting into Murkoff's database was extremely difficult. He hadn't gotten to the core yet, which would have made his job so much easier, so he just had to pick around the edges. "I suppose you have a point."

Ludvig's tone of concern came back. "If you need to get out of here tonight, we could easily arrange for that, you know. Heard your friend here had a difficult run in with someone today."

Edward became a little suspicious at that statement. How did Ludvig know about what happened with Takeo's ex? Takeo… There was no way in hell Edward would let that guy lay a hand on his Takeo again if he could help it.

It was settled then.

"… When can I get started?"


	3. Research

(And so the story REALLY begins…)

It had been almost two hours after Takeo was supposed to be home and Edward was beginning to grow more than a little worried. He was usually always on time coming home from… work. Even though Edward's paycheck was sufficient enough to support the both of them, Takeo had insisted that he continue his old work in their new residence. Edward had let him do it, seeing no reason to be against it, but now, he was starting to get worried. It had only been a few hours though; why the heck was he so worried now? It was true; over the year of them being together they had grown a strong relationship, much stronger than when Edward was beginning his employment at Murkoff, even. Which was what made Edward even more worried now that Takeo hadn't even called home to tell him he was going to be late.

Edward knew he had to shrug off Takeo's absence that evening, though, and get back to work. He had already given himself an hour more than he was supposed to. Murkoff had Edward's computers transferred to their new house so Edward was able to work from home. So Edward sat down at his desk and started back on developing the new firewall system for Murkoff.

He was only busy for a few minutes when the telephone rang. He didn't recognize the number when he picked it up but he did recognize the voice immediately.

"Edward?" 

"Yes?"

"This is the Research Department. Dr. Maxis would like to speak with you in person." A pause. "Now."

"Alright, thank you." He was about the hang up the phone when he laughed. "You know, you don't have to be so formal with me, Marlton."

Click. Then nothing on the other end.

Edward found that _very_ odd, not only that the friendliest guy-toward him, anyway-at the company was being so formal with him, but also the sudden hang up. What was going on today?

Edward made haste in driving out to Murkoff. He always found it a little odd that the facility was off the road, but never questioned with the big paycheck and nice living arrangements he was given. Not to mention that fact that the relocation and protection had gotten Takeo out of his situation.

Edward had only ever visited the facility once to sort out the details of his contract at the beginning of his employment with Dr. Maxis and a few other times in the beginning to look at Murkoff's security software from within. That was it. The other employees who worked in the security department weren't so trusting of him at first, being as they were the ones who had been working to _prevent_ his invasion of Murkoff's files, but eventually, they grew to respect each other.

Yet again, oddly enough, as he walked down the halls of the facility to the elevator, none of them would even look him in the eye. He was beginning to worry if he was in trouble, if he had done something wrong, or maybe he wasn't working fast enough or well enough for Murkoff's liking.

It didn't occur to him that Takeo's sudden disappearance could have been related.

When Edward arrived at Dr. Maxis' office, Marlton was there. Though a young man, he looked like the well-seasoned researcher he truly was with that lab coat, sharp, smart attitude, and confident posture. Except, his posture wasn't so confident today. He was making himself visibly smaller as he led Edward deeper into the facility and avoided any attempts Edward made at small talk with him. What the hell was going on today?

"Here we are." Marlton finally said when the elevator reached its destination. He pointed to a door all the way down the hall with a guard in front of it. "Dr. Maxis is inside." As Edward walked out of the elevator and down the hall, he could have sworn he heard him whimper, "Good luck."

Edward showed the guard his I.D. with a shaky hand and took a deep breath before he was let inside. The breath helped… until he saw Ludvig's disappointed face.

"Ah, Edward." Dr. Maxis started, his voice as shaky as Edward's hands were, but Ludvig was brimming with anger. "You're just on time."

"Something wrong, Dr. Maxis?" Edward was able to control his voice, but not his fidgeting.

"There sure is." Now Maxis was awfully angry. Edward wished he knew what was going on so he didn't get any angrier. "Do you have ANY idea what your friend has been up to recently?"

"Yes, and, apparently, he didn't know either."

"Wh-… what?" Now Edward was starting to get worried. What was Ludvig talking about? What _was_ Takeo up to? Takeo had told him everything about his work and even whom he worked for, but it never occurred to Edward to do background checks because he felt Takeo was experienced enough to do that himself.

Ludvig sighed. "I'm guessing you were expecting him. Well, might as well show you what messing with Murkoff gets you." He tapped on some keys in front a bunch of screens, which had code and "statuses" of something rolling down them. Except, two of the screens were live security cameras. When Ludvig tapped the keys, one of those screens switched and Edward screamed.

On the screen was Takeo in a straight jacket tied to a chair, struggling to get out. But it got worse; tubes were shoved down his throat and bloody red rashes were eating up the left side of his face. The left half of his mustache was almost gone.

Edward almost knocked the wind of out Ludvig when he grabbed him and started shouting, "WHAT IS THIS? WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM? ANSWER ME!" Guards grabbed Edward and pried him from Ludvig.

Ludvig did his best to remain calm. "Don't worry, your friend will be okay once you answer my questions-."

Edward had a feeling Murkoff was hiding something, but not something so immoral. He never felt so disgusted in his life. "Is this what you've been up to the whole time?! HUMAN EXPERIMENTATION?!"

"Calm down-!"

If Edward were strong enough, he would have put those guards on the ground, but he was close enough with how hard he was fighting. "NO! NO! I WILL NOT CALM DOWN! NOT UNTIL I RELEASE EVERYTHING YOU AND-AND MURKOFF HAVE EVER DONE IN THIS FACILITY!"

Ludvig observed him struggling, as if trying to search for another answer. But he found none. "… Very well then. I have my answer." He nodded to the guards and they took him away.


	4. The Hunt Begins

It was a blur, but a painful one nonetheless. Screaming, crying, kicking, being tied to a chair and hooked up to all sorts of wires, all the while, a deep-set feeling of enraged, seething… vengeance. He would have Maxis' head for this.

* * *

Edward didn't know when he blacked out, but when he woke up, he quickly realized he was being dragged. He also realized that he was being dragged to an elevator and that the lights in the hall were flashing red, people were scrambling about and running, and sirens were blaring. Edward grabbed the hands on his collar and pulled himself up. "What on Earth is going on-?!" He saw the person who was dragging him was a young man in a lab coat. The man let go of him once Edward was fully standing.

"There's been a breach and the test subjects got loose! We have to evacuate immediately!" The man began smashing the elevator button, but to no avail. "Come on, COME ON!"

A blinding light suddenly hit Edward's vision and he stumbled back. He was forgetting yet remembering at the same time; there was something-no, someone-missing. Nothing else mattered but this person. Nothing. Suddenly, there was a throbbing sensation in his head and a loud ringing in his ears. He fell back onto the ground and clutched his head.

Then he remembered a name, though a pet name, still a name as important as any other…

"… Darling." The strange sensations were clearing up and Edward could see the same man from before had grabbed his hand and was pulling him up from the floor. But when he came to his feet, he didn't let go. "Darling? Darling!" As much as the man pulled on Edward, Edward refused to move nor let him go, shrieking even louder than the sirens, "WHERE IS MY DARLING?!"

The man screamed back, "Takeo escaped too! But it would be best if you left him!"

Edward's eyes darted around the hall. "My darling! I must find him and-!" Edward then looked back at the man. That jet black hair, such a young face and physique, and the way he looked in that white, white lab coat… "You! You will be perfect!"

"What are you talking about?!" Edward would still not let go of the man, no matter how much he tried. "Edward, it's me! Marlton, your friend-!"

"I don't think you understand." He pulled Marlton closer before almost whispering. "You will be the perfect dowry for my darling."

"What-?" Without warning, Edward punched Marlton in the side of the head. Marlton reeled back, running for the elevator, but Edward grabbed his lab coat.

"Beautiful! You will be so beautiful!" Edward screamed as he continued the assault. He caught him and pulled him closer by the lab coat.

But Marlton had other plans.

As soon as he got close enough, Marlton raked his nails down the right side of Edward's face. Edward wailed and reeled back. He grabbed his face, but that only made it worse. He realized that that side of his face already had an injury on it. He looked back, furious, but found that Marlton was already gone.

Oddly enough, though, a lab coat from the man remained in his hands. He looked down and realized that he was wearing some sort of brown jumpsuit with numbers going down the chest.

"No… this will not do." Edward said to himself. He needed something more fitting for his darling, something… for their wedding. Yes, she was the perfect bride after all, no? She looked at the lab coat in her hand and smiled. "… Perfect."

* * *

When the sirens went off and the scientists and guards started scrambling to get out, Takeo went into even higher panic. He fought and fought his restraints, and oddly enough, this time, he was able to break free. As he began ripping the tubes from his body, bright light blinded him and he fell to the floor. There was also a throbbing sensation in his head and a loud ringing in his ears, and it wasn't just from the sirens. He began forgetting yet remembering at the same time; there was someone, someone who he was so happy with and would do anything for. Anything, anything in the world… especially slaughter and give to him a trophy of all those nasty… cats.

Cats? Why the sudden loathing for cats all of the sudden? Not exactly a loathing but simply a tradition; he remembered catching and cutting the tails off of cats in his childhood. This was true and not an illusion, however, for some reason or another, it was magnifying in his mind as something of the utmost important. That and this certain man whose neither name nor face he could not remember…

Fortunately, once the sensations subsided, he saw that the door had been left open, apparently left open in the scientists' haste to escape. He looked out the door and found no one left in the hall. He knew he had to get away from the noisy sirens, however, and find this man…

* * *

Edward hummed as she continued cutting the sheer curtain. _Perfect for the veil_, she thought. _And perhaps also a peignoir? _She continued humming happily, thinking of how happy her groom would be to see her in the dress she had sewn herself. And to think that it only took one more lab coat! She had to catch and slaughter another confused scientist for it, so her groom better be happy about it. Fortunately, the sewing machine she had found made it so much easier and faster putting the gown together. Apparently, this was some sort of recreation area of the building because she had also found a gymnasium, in which she took advantage of and strung up the corpse of the scientist. Perhaps she would make that the room where she would keep his dowry until she found him again. Of course, one body simply would not be enough, and from the screams and cries she was hearing around the place, she knew she was not the only one in the recreation area. All she had to do now was hunt…

* * *

Takeo searched and searched but could not find him. But in the meanwhile, he was having a quite a fun time dismembering whatever cats he encountered. No matter how much they shrieked and pleaded for mercy, they would always come to the same end. It was getting a tad cold as the night progressed, so he began skinning the cats and wearing their skins for warmth. He had to admit, just a few skins were enough for an entire blanket! These alley cats were suspiciously large and strong, but none of them were a match for him and they all met their dooms swiftly. Of course, he still wanted to know more about this man he faintly knew, so now, he had to hunt for him…


	5. Victims Part I

Samuel Stuhlinger was the head of an investigative journalism firm. He was definitely experienced in his field, but nothing in the past could have prepared him for the HELL he was going to encounter at the Murkoff asylum. He had already spent the last two hours being chased around by deranged patients. He was an older man and wasn't exactly sure how much more his body could take. But unfortunately, he was lost pretty deep within the asylum.

Then he heard someone singing.

"Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream. Make him the cutest that I've ever seen…" The voice sounded almost like a cry; it was so sad. Interesting that it was a man's voice, but Samuel wasn't exactly in the state of mind right now to be making such judgments. Now, he just had to survive.

Perhaps he should go investigate? It _was_ in the job title. But then, he almost jumped when he heard voices behind him. "Look! Another one! Bring him to The Bride, no time to waste!"

Samuel did not hesitate to run. Run to where he did not know, but he knew he had to run. He wasn't going to let anyone in this facility lay a hand on him. He found a staircase and began to run down it. The voices from behind started up again.

"Oh god, what are we gonna do?! The Bride will catch us! She's bad news, man! Bad! Bad-!"

"Wait, look! Where is he going?!"

"I hope your groom enjoys this one, Mr. Bride…"

"Enjoys this one?" What does that even mean? Samuel guessed that he was about to find out, as the singing got louder and louder as he walked through the place. Interestingly enough, as he walked into the next room, there were what appeared to be corpses made to stand dressed in what looked like formal men's attire. Oddly enough, the clothes were spotless. On a wall was a message written in blood, "Home is where the heart is." He took pictures and began writing some notes when he heard a voice behind him.

"Ah, there you are!" Samuel turned around and saw a tall man in a wedding dress and veil approaching him. Then he saw the knife in his hand.

Uh oh.

Fortunately, Samuel was fast enough and he ran to another door and started making a run for it. He came to a dead end but fortunately, there were plenty of places to hide. Specifically, he chose a locker.

He looked around the room from the grate of the locker and then realized something was off about this room. Then he realized; the strong scent of blood he smelled was not in his imagination. Neither was the table covered in blood and the small collection of medical tools next to it.

Considering the fact that the man who had approached him was no longer chasing him, he thought that maybe he could leave. But then, he heard a scream and the voice of the same man calmly talking to the other person. They were coming this way, so Samuel did his best to stay still.

"I know my darling will love you! You'll be so beautiful!" The man was jovially shouting as he entered the room. Meanwhile, he was tying a struggling and screaming man to the table. "Just a snip here and a few snips there!" Then his voice eerily calmed. "Cut away until you are beautiful." Then he started his work. Samuel thought he was going to throw up; the man started by cutting flesh from his victim's legs. Then he worked his way up, trailing long gashes up his sides before starting work on the torso and cut pieces from him, not stopping as much as the man on the table screamed. All the while, he sang that damn song. The man then came back down to his victim's crotch and hesitated. "… Well, I better make sure my groom is loyal and doesn't use this!" The man tied to the table then started wailing. The man in the dress leaned down and cooed. "Don't cry… you'll be so beautiful." And with that, he took his longest blade and stabbed his victim right between the legs.

Samuel was so affected by that last part, he accidentally opened the locker and came falling out onto his face. When he finally came to his senses, he realized that he was being grabbed by his hair. "Where have you been?!" The man in the dress demanded. "Do you have any idea how much time is wasted when I have to chase down replacements?! Precious time before I am to be wed?!" Fortunately, he was stronger than the man and was able to push him away and make another run for it. This time, he took a different door than last time in one of the rooms and found himself tripping over ropes tied to the floor. He looked up and then he saw them; corpses bleeding and hanging from the ceiling.

"Unbelievable!" Samuel heard the man scream. "Fine! You wanna hang like all the others?!" Suddenly, Samuel felt a rope being tied around his neck. "THEN HANG!"

Edward wasn't so proud of herself. She had done it, sure; she had another one cornered and afraid. But this one was different.

This one was injured.

Edward didn't know why, but she just wasn't so proud to be cutting up a lame girl. But as she reached out to grab her, she stopped herself. There was something different about this girl than the others; it seemed like she just didn't belong here. She wasn't a scientist, she wasn't a guard, and she certainly wasn't a variant.

Strange. Very strange.

Edward wasn't exactly sure if the girl would even answer her, nor did she want to delay her wedding even further, but she started, "May I ask how you got here?"

"W-what?"

"You heard me."

The girl shivered and refused to look Edward in the eye, but eyed the hand that Edward was holding a knife instead. "Well, I'll make it short; a friendly woman invited me here but as soon as she was introducing me to some people, the alarms went off and she vanished."

Edward immediately pitied her; not only was she led here with friendly promises like Edward had been, but now she was lame and could not even run. He reached out the hand without the knife. "Come. Let me clean up your leg."

The girl was hesitant but complied. Edward, being the much taller of the two, did her best to support the girl as she led her to her sleeping quarters.

The "house" as Edward called it was not much; a sewing machine in one corner, a mattress in another, and some makeshift cooking supplies. And some discarded rubbish. That was pretty much it. Edward sat her down on the mattress and then looked around the room. Then she saw a single small plank of wood in a pile of rubbish. Upon closer inspection, it looked to be practically splinter free. Edward rubbed the dirt off it and returned to Abigail with some scrap strips of fabric and a canteen of water too. "Here, roll up your pant leg." Abigail understood what Edward was doing and easily complied. "Now, this may sting a little, but it will do its job." With that, Edward began to wash Abigail's wound. Abigail whimpered a little but did her best to hold it in. Once she was satisfied, Edward began gently wrapping her leg in the fabric and then he wrapped the board to her leg. "There we go! I don't suggest walking on it just yet… well, I guess you could stay here if you really needed to." Edward looked around, hearing voices from outside. "I'll be busy, but you can stay. I trust you won't start tampering with things. Not that I have much to tamper with anyway…"

"Thank you, sir." The girl finally responded.

Edward almost didn't react at first. "Oh, no, don't call me that! Though my name is Edward, I'm not a man!"

"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to-!"

"It's fine!" Edward patted her on the head before heading out.

Then the girl called to her. "Just so you know, my name is Abigail!"

But Edward was already singing her cheery little tune. "Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream…"


	6. Victims Part II

Marlton ran into the next room and slammed the door behind him. It was bad enough that he had been chased for the last half hour by some guy with a knife yammering on about his ex wives, but now he was trapped deep within the asylum. Damn, how the hell could this get any worse?

Then he heard a voice. "Here kitty kitty…" The low, gravely voice came from a man in another room. Though the voice feigned friendliness, Marlton could easily hear the malice.

Not to mention the panicked screaming.

"Oh no, it's The Poacher! RUN!" There were more panicked screams, all mentioning "The Poacher." Marlton could hear heavy objects crashing and people running about, doors being slammed, and the same voice from before calling "Here, kitty kitty!"

Suddenly, a variant burst into the room Marlton was taking respite in. He motioned to Marlton but it was too late. "FOUND YOU, KITTY!" The door slammed open behind him and the man was knocked to the ground by a man covered in fresh human skins and with a gash and rashes covering the left side of his face. The attacking man pinned his victim to the ground and sliced his neck open. Then he began skinning him mercilessly, like he was cleaning a fish rather than handling a person. Marlton thought he was going to throw up just from the stench, let alone the sight of it all. But then it happened.

Marlton released a whimper.

The man stopped his work and looked around the room. He then stood up, and began searching. Marlton did his best to control his breath, but it was useless. He shut his eyes, hoping that it would calm his senses. It did, but then, he was pulled from his hiding spot.

"KITTY!"

* * *

"The Poacher," eh? Takeo liked it, he really did. He didn't remember much from his past anyway, except this guy who he couldn't get out of his head. It was a nice feeling though, like he had something special with this man…

Takeo stopped when he faintly heard someone singing. "Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream. Make him the cutest that I've ever seen…" It was an interesting sound being as it was such a feminine song being strangled by a forlorn German accent. Nonetheless, he followed it. Might as well have some company at last.

He came across a room a peeked in through the window. Inside, he saw a girl sitting on a mattress with an injured leg. She was forlornly singing, but not the same song Takeo was following.

"When I was a boy my mother often said to me, 'Get married boy and see how happy you will be…'"

Takeo grinned. "Kitty cat…" He began growling. Fortunately, the door was unlocked so he opened it and stepped inside.

"Edward?" The girl inside called. She turned to see Takeo. "Oh, hello, can I help you-?"

"HERE KITTY KITTY!" Takeo ran forward and lunged at her. But then, someone hit him from the side and knocked him to the ground. He growled and got up.

He saw a man in a wedding dress with a rash pattern on his face that almost mirrored his own. He was prepared to fight but the man was not.

"… Darling?" The man in the dress finally said. He began approaching Takeo but Takeo was not about to let him have the upper hand. He redrew his knife, ready to attack at any moment. The man stopped but still did not prepare to attack. "Darling, could it really be you? Darling, you don't have to defend yourself against me. I'm not like the other variants. Darling, it's me!"

Takeo had had enough of this. Finally, he lunged for the man, who dodged with ease and revealed that he was holding his own knife. Then, the fight began, both receiving their fair share of injuries, but nothing grave. Abigail knew she couldn't just sit there and let this happen to the woman who had saved and taken care of her, so she carefully got up, picked up the mattress, and did her best to limp over to the fighters. Then, when Takeo was distracted enough, Abigail used the mattress to push Takeo onto the floor and sit on him. Abigail wasn't sure what she was doing, but she reached for Takeo's wrist and twisted it, intending to grab the knife from his hand.

"ABIGAIL, NO!" Edward screamed and pushed her away. Abigail stood confused as Edward stood between her and the attacker, all the while watching the attacker with concern.

Takeo suddenly remembered having his wrist twisted another time, but in a much more unpleasant time. Then he began remembering other things associated with the event. It was as if he was there again, screaming for his life when HE saved him, when HE brought him inside and spoke such words of concern and affection for him, when…

"… Edward?" Takeo looked up, practically forgetting what had just happened. Edward did not move but simply observed. Abigail stood there, wondering if she was strong enough to grab the knife from Edward's hand and fast enough to finish the job. Takeo pushed the mattress off himself and got up slowly, to show that he meant no harm. He also placed his knife on the floor. "Edward, oh my gods, is it really you?"

Edward was trembling, but not out of fear. A smile graced her face while tears filled her eyes. "Yes, darling." Edward placed her knife on the ground too and ran to Takeo. They embraced and kissed. Abigail didn't know exactly what to make of it, the horrific sight of a woman in the bloody wedding dress and a man covered in fresh human skins making out right after they just had a knife fight.

Abigail took the mattress and brought it back to the corner of the room. "I'm gonna try to go to sleep." She mumbled before lying on the mattress and pulling the covers over her head.

Eventually, Edward and Takeo broke the kiss for air. They just looked at each other and smiled happily. Then Takeo chuckled, "Oh goodness, what are you wearing?"

Edward returned the laughter. "A wedding gown, darling, can't you see that?"

"I can clearly see, but why?"

Tears filled Edward's eyes again but she beamed happily, "Because I knew my groom would come back to me."

Takeo was taken aback by the kenning for a second, but then responded without hesitation, "Yes, of course. I am your groom and you are my bride."


	7. Wedding Crashers

Edward had a skip in her step as she swept up the floor of her home. There were some windows in the room, so the three of them were able to tell that several days had passed since Takeo and Edward were reunited. Only several days yet Edward was the happiest bride on Earth; she finally had regained a certain bounce in her step and song that was only there before becoming variants. Never had she realized how much the phrase "never know what it means until it's gone" really meant until now.

For now, however, she could not dwell on the negative of the past. For now, she had to clean up the place and then sew the vest for her groom. She had already finished the slacks, shirt, and bow tie. All that was left was the vest and he would be the perfect groom.

To be married to the perfect groom… Edward truly was the happiest bride in the world.

For Takeo, he was more than glad that he had finally met the man he dreamed of. Of course, Edward eventually corrected him and told him that she was a woman now and he now said the correct pronouns, but sometimes, his mind would slip and think the wrong pronouns. He was learning, though who could blame him with the steamy memories of what an animal Edward would become in the bedroom. Edward had been perfect; with the right mix of tender and rough, she brought out the animal in Takeo too. He hoped such bedroom disposition hadn't changed since her switch in gender…

Takeo sighed blissfully as he came back to the present. He then remembered that he was cooking a meal for the three of them with the preserved food he found. And fortunately, it was just about done. Abigail thanked him as he handed a portion to her on a makeshift plate. Though Abigail did not trust Takeo too much, Edward insisted that he was all right and Abigail trusted he so she trusted Takeo to a degree. Abigail's morale was good except for one factor; an infection in her leg was beginning to hinder healing. It was unfortunate that they were trapped in a medical facility but could not use any of the medications for fear that they might actually aggravate Abigail's infection or, worse, turn her into a variant too. Besides the infection, however, Abigail's morale was awfully high considering the situation; the three of them came up with games that they could play to pass slow times, Abigail would help Edward in tailoring Takeo's new clothes, and the food and water Takeo found kept Abigail strong. And being as she had two strong variants on her side, Abigail didn't feel so scared.

Things were going so well.

"Oh my goodness…" Edward said to herself from the sewing corner of the room. She stopped and inspected her work. "No, no, this cannot be."

"Everything alright, kitten?" Takeo walked up to her and rubbed her unscarred cheek. "Don't stress yourself out, if you need a break-."

"No, it's not that darling. I… I think it's done." Edward inspected the garment she was working on one last time. "It's done! It is done!" She got up and began to jump in glee. "It's done! Now everything will be perfect!" She hugged her little groom tightly and did a little dance with him.

"That's wonderful, kitten!"

"What's going on?" Abigail looked up from the mattress. "You two finally getting married or something?" She held back the laugh, but still smiled. It was nice to see the two genuinely happy.

"Yes, actually!" Edward did not pause at Abigail's look of "are you kidding me." "And you will be the one to wed us!"

Abigail raised a finger. "… But-."

Takeo interjected. "No 'buts!' It has already been decided and," Takeo turned to Edward, "I'm not sure if you already knew this, kitten, but I've already decorated the chapel and everything!"

"Oh, wonderful!" Edward replied. While the two chatted delightfully, Abigail was still quite confused. A wedding? In this hellhole? Where there were plenty of other potentially dangerous variants that could come out of the dark and attack at any moment? Not to mention, how on Earth would they be wed? Abigail didn't know how to marry people!

"Um, guys…" Abigail finally called to them. "I'm sorry to interrupt the celebrations but… I really don't think this is a good idea." The couple looked at her with concern. "No, no, I think it's a great idea that you two get married! But I'm just not sure how this is going to work out. I mean; I've never married anyone and I don't know how to."

"It's alright!" Edward reassured her. "This won't be a traditional marriage anyway because I actually wrote everything that will be said at the ceremony! Oh, and also!" Edward pushed a crate aside, pulled out a pair of crutches, and brought them to Abigail. "Takeo found these for you! We hid them because we didn't want you walking unless you absolutely had to. Of course, if walking now is still too hazardous or painful for you, we can delay the ceremony-."

"No, no, it's fine. I think it's time I started stretching out anyways. My leg has felt better recently." Abigail held onto Edward for support and did her best not to use her injured leg while getting up. Takeo rushed over and also helped her. Together, they adjusted the heights on the crutches to suit Abigail. Once she was stable, Abigail breathed a sigh of relief. "So, now, Takeo, if you'll change into your suit and Edward will give me what she wrote and a wedding we will go?"

Abigail had to admit the chapel _was_ nicely decorated; mixes of sheer and heavy curtain fabrics were draped from the rafters and some flowers and other greenery-mostly dead-decorated the floor. Unlike any other wedding, though, there were no chairs on either side of the "aisle." Unfortunate, but it was the harsh truth about this wedding.

But Edward wasn't complaining at all. "Oh, darling, it's beautiful! I just love how you incorporated that fabric with-darling, where are you going?"

"Over here, kitten." Takeo called back when he finally got to the end of the aisle. "You do remember why we're here in the first place, right?"

Edward giggled. "Of course, darling." Abigail took that as cue to join Takeo. Once she was at his side, Edward stepped out of the room's entrance then took an audible breath before slowly reappearing and beginning to amble down the aisle. Takeo's smile grew so wide Abigail wondered why his chapped lips weren't killing him right now. Finally, Edward stood next to Takeo and the couple turned to face each other. The scarred couple in their loosely patched together wedding attire amongst a chapel of death and beauty looked like a couple straight from a Tim Burton work, horrific yet strangely enchanting and so enchanted with each other. Abigail couldn't help staring and it was when she realized the two were staring at _her_ that she looked at the paper Edward had given her.

"Today, Takeo Masaki and Edward Richtofen have come together on this grand occasion to be wed." She read from the paper. "And now, they will recite their vows." As the two recited their vows, Abigail couldn't help but imagine if this was how traditional weddings went; though it seemed like they had practice their vows very well, there was no way that they would have needed to considering how much emotion they said them with. Abigail could tell the vows truly came from the bottom of their hearts, even though some of them were rather twisted and gruesome.

Once they were done, Abigail looked back at the paper. "And now, the first kiss of your official union." Edward and Takeo did not hesitate with the kiss, making sure to keep it chaste and quick though due to the presence of a third party.

"Congratulations!" Abigail clapped once they parted. "Now, about sleeping arrangements for tonight-."

Suddenly, a variant came barreling through the entrance of the chapel. "WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!" He shouted.

The voice Takeo knew too well and though Edward did not know it as well, she was not hesitant to defend her husband. "YOU!" Edward stepped in front of Takeo. "YOU DARE SHOW UP HERE ON OUR SPECIAL DAY?! HOW DARE YOU!"

Jacob's eyes darted around the place. "Look, what happened in the past doesn't matter right now-!"

"IT DOESN'T MATTER?! **IT DOESN'T MATTER?!**" Edward angrily began to stomp towards him. Takeo tried to hold her back, but couldn't . "MY GROOM SOMETIMES STILL HAS NIGHTMARES ABOUT YOU! WHAT PART ABOUT THAT DON'T YOU-?!"

"LOOK OUT!"

Suddenly, Edward felt Takeo grab him and pull him away from screaming in Jacob's face. In that very moment, a variant jumped down from the rafters, stabbing downward with a knife. His knife got stuck in the ground, but then, the sound of hard things hitting the walls from the outside and the sound of yelling could be heard. "THE BRIDE AND POACHER ARE IN THERE! KILL THEM! KILL THEM!"

Takeo quickly kicked the variant struggling with the knife in the ground in the head to knock him out. Then picked up Abigail and commanded, "RUN!"

The group ran to the entrance only to be met by a small group of angry variants. "THERE THEY ARE!" One of them shouted and lunged for Edward. Fortunately, Jacob was armed and he intervened the attack. Edward quickly took the knife out of the ground and joined Jacob in fighting off the variants. Fortunately, not all of them were as strong nor knew how to fight and the group was able to push its way out and run back to Edward and Takeo's house.

"Phew! That was close!" Jacob finally released his breath upon finding safety. "I knew I had to repay my debt-!" Suddenly a variant flashed out from the dark and knocked Jacob in the head. He fell to the ground.

"Oh, so you're working with 'em, eh?!" The variant screamed and raised the hammer he was holding.

"No, wait-!" Takeo gave Abigail to Edward and slammed the attacker away from Jacob. He then grabbed the hammer from him and began kicking him in the head until he was unconscious.

Jacob tried to stand up when a larger rock hit him in the head. He was still somewhat standing, but clutched his head. The four of them looked around and realized that they were surrounded by at least twenty variants, all with weapons in some shape or form.

"Abigail, get behind us!" Edward commanded and Abigail dragged herself behind the three. They formed a circle around Abigail, positioning themselves to be ready to fight, when suddenly, the mob dispersed.

"AHHHHHHH, THE WALRIDER!" They shrieked in terror. One of them, however, remained and went to attack Jacob. But then, a swarm of black surrounded him and the variant exploded.

Jacob screamed. "You guys gotta get out of here NOW!" And he ran for his life.

Takeo began picking up Abigail again when the swarm attacked him. Edward shrieked but the swarm did not destroy Takeo; instead, it knocked him over and grabbed for Abigail. She cried for help as it picked her up and flew out of the room with her.

"ABIGAIL!" Edward called out and began to chase after her, but Takeo stopped her.

"C'mon, you heard Jacob! We gotta get out of here!" Realizing that Edward wasn't going to move, Takeo picked her up and started running for the opposite door.


	8. Escape

"Put me down, put me down!" Edward finally commanded after she calmed down. Once Takeo found a hiding spot, he complied and put Edward down.

"We have to get out of this place." Takeo panted.

"Yeah, no really?" Even though she was now in the mindset of escaping, Takeo could still see lament for Abigail in her eyes. "What's the plan?"

"Well, if you need to take a moment, that's fine-."

Edward interrupted, wishing to no longer mourn the subject. "No, we've already lost Abigail, I couldn't bear to lose you too."

Takeo's heart panged at the notion of dying in such a way and losing Edward, but then his mind revamped once he was reminded how much danger they were in. "Well, we have to stick together from now on and avoid other variants at all costs. No more playing around. I don't think we should worry about food because out goal from this point on is to escape as soon as possible." Then he held Edward's hands in his own and made sure she was looking at him before finishing. "And we WILL accomplish that goal."

* * *

The two may have been running and hiding for only hours (being as there were some windows on their path and they could see the sun had not fallen for the day yet) but it felt like forever with how fatigued they became. They took small breaks and eventually even found some unused water bottles, but they both knew they couldn't stop. Not until they finally escaped.

Eventually, though, they found it; the elevator that Edward first took on that fateful night. It was not working and they didn't want to risk it anyway so they took a nearby staircase. A small price to pay for a light at the end of the tunnel.

Finally, they made it. They were walking in the lobby of the asylum. Once a friendly foyer now absolutely macabre and filled with blood and bodies. Except, there was one who looked familiar…

"Ah, Mr. Richtofen. Or should I now say, 'The Bride?'" Ludvig sat slumped in the entrance of the asylum. He was clearly injured as he held the arm that was facing away from them. Ludvig then turned his attention to Takeo. "Oh, it looks like The Bride found her groom!" He began to laugh.

"You… LAUGH?! WHY I OUTTA-!" Edward screamed and lunged herself at him. She was too fast for Takeo but not fast enough for when Ludvig lunged back with his own blade and stabbed her in the leg.

"NO ONE CAN KNOW! NO ONE!" He began screaming. Takeo ran to intervene him, but then, the same black swarm from before swooped down and picked Ludvig into the air.

"HOW DID IT GET IN HERE?!" He shrieked. "HOLY FUCK! NO NO NO-!" And with that, he was reduced to bloody pieces.

Takeo ran to Edward and stood between him and the swarm. Whatever would happen next, he would not leave Edward's side.

But then, the swarm lowered itself in front of the two and began to take on a humanoid formation. Then, its outer shell transformed in color and texture and took on the form of a young lady. "You… you saved my Abigail." Her voice was that of church hymns and a droid at the same time. Even with the mention of Abigail, the two were still afraid and held tight to each other.

So they were relieved when Abigail came limping in. "Edward! Takeo!"

"Abigail!" The couple called back in relief. The Walrider hurried over to Abigail, picked her up, and carried her over to the two.

"Oh my god, I was so worried about you!" Abigail weakly cried out.

"We were so worried too-GOTT IN HIMMEL!" Edward shrieked as she saw Abigail's leg. Pus and blood practically dripped on the floor from her wound. She tried to get up to inspect it, but immediately fell back down due to the stab wound in her leg.

"The infection is getting worse and it's spreading." The Walrider explained. Abigail shivered and the Walrider coddled Abigail, rubbed her hand, and cooed softly in a strange tongue. She turned back to Takeo and Edward. "She's got a fever too."

Takeo tried to keep his voice calm, but struggled as he heard his own strained inflections. "We've got to get both of them to a hospital."

"There's an open empty civilian jeep out front." She paused when she saw the concern on Takeo's face. "It's okay if you're not fit to drive; you can just sit in the driver's seat and I can control the car."

"Th-thanks." Takeo finally managed to stutter.

The Walrider then took on her swarm form again and gently picked up both Abigail and Edward. She then flew through the entrance and over to the jeep outside, being slow enough not to drop either of them but making haste. Takeo ran ahead and the two collaborated to get Edward and Abigail into the car. Once they were buckled in, Takeo got in the front seat and, just as planned, the Walrider seeped into under the car hood, took control of the car, and started their journey outside of the asylum gates.

Takeo wasn't sure about Edward, but he was absolutely nervous; they were about to reenter civilization and now, with both of their new homicidal tendencies, they were bound to run into some issues. He had a feeling they were going to have to pay for the crimes they committed in the asylum. The best outcome he saw was that they would plead insanity and be put into a real asylum for a while where they could recuperate from the damages of whatever the hell what done to them in there. Edward would have all the information; he would crack the code like he always did and they could bring Murkoff down together. Though Edward was loving with him after the experiments-and Takeo would have loved Edward regardless-he hoped that mastermind was still in there, for Edward's sake…

A pained moan brought Takeo back to the present. He realized it was from Abigail. "Everything alright?" Though he didn't want to see her pained expression, he looked back.

And a pained expression it was. "Oh god, I don't feel so good…"

"Just stay with us, okay?" Takeo tried to be helpful with his tone and facial expression, but his worry showed through as Abigail began whimpering.

Suddenly, the Walrider spoke. "Abigail, it's me, Sam. Stay with me, okay? For me?"

Abigail smiled dumbly, sweat dripping from her forehead down to her neck. "Okay, Sammy-girl…"

The Walrider's voice sounded calm, but became a little louder. "Sing with me, Abby." Then, she began to sing. "When I was a boy, my mother often said to me, 'Get married son and see how happy you will be…'"

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**Hey guys, thanks for sticking with me until the end! If you want to read more things I write, stick with me here and follow my Tumblr and DeviantART (both Madfaun). Thanks again for the read and I hoped you enjoyed!**


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